Intensity in Sparring, and Helping Each Other

As I've said in the past, sparring is an integral part of training. You'll never progress to your full potential in your system if you don't put your skills into application. Just as a police officer has to practice firing their gun at a target, or a musician has to practice outside of their lessons to get better and stay better, so a martial artist has to apply the skills they learn in class to fully understand how they work.

It's important that you apply the techniques you learn when sparring with contact, but it's also important to remember that you are not fighting a person on the street or in a tournament when in the practice ring. In my school we fight full contact as if we were in championship when we train, however we are encouraged to use restraint on the contact for a better quality training experience. If our most highly skilled students got put in the ring with less experienced students and went for the knockout every time a match was started the less experienced students would never learn anything and would probably become discouraged. At the same time the high ranking students would never progress farther then they have already either. I've always found that when I help a lower ranking student out in class that I end up analyzing my own technique as I teach  and learning something new in the process.

I personally think in a studio where you train in groups everyone should work to benefit the whole group. Martial arts may be something one practices to better ones self, but it can also help you help people better themselves as well, which can in turn better you further. The marital arts were traditionally passed on throughout the generations in families from father to son. Aren't we as martial artists part of a family of sorts too? Just something to think about. I always feel a kindred spirit amongst those I train with on a regular basis. Everyone in the class I regularly attend has bonded  as a team, and even though we go to train ourselves, we better each other as well. Happy training.

Styles mean nothing to me

I constantly see people in forums talking about how one style is superior to another style, or asking the same. Styles mean nothing without hard work, discipline and commitment. Any person of any style can defeat any person of any other style. Muay Thai is not better than Taekwondo and Kung Fu is not better then Brazilian Jujitsu. It's all about the dedication one has for their art form and how each of us applies their system to how they fight. You need to learn all aspects of your art form to to be well rounded.

I personally practice Taekwondo and I find it to be extremely fulfilling. I also know for a fact that most Taekwondo schools do not teach the full art form as mine does. You say Taekwondo to the average practitioner of and style (including Taekwondo) and they will tell you that Taekwondo is predominately a kicking art form and is focused mainly on the sport side of martial arts. This is not true under a fully trained instructor. Taekwondo has many wrist locks, take-downs and throws that people don't even realize are a part of the art anymore because the creation of the Mcdojo has devolved the art (and so many other art forms) so much over time. Now all people see of Taeksondo is the Olympic style of sparring that is the sport side of the art form. My school does teach this but also teaches the practical self defense side of things as well.

The point is that any practitioner of any style deserves respect in the arts if they train hard and have good instructors, coaches, or masters. The strength of the art form is not in the art form itself, but is more in the individual practitioner and their drive and dedication to their style.

Sparring

Sparring is an integral part of any martial arts training. Whether it's Taekwondo training like I practice, or it's karate, kung fu, MMA , or even Tai Chi push hands sparring is something that should be included in any practitioners workout. Sparring with contact whether it's full or light contact is very important for rounding out and honing your skills. You can train day after day with poomse (forms/kata), targets, punching bags and drills for years, but if you never put it into a physical application then all of the skills you've acquired are going to be shaky at best. Fighting a real human being is the most random act one can partake of. When being mugged on the street or being assaulted by an over angered person the attacks are not going to be controlled and in proper fashion like in a traditional martial arts class. It also allows you to develop the ability to take and deliver a hit. Most people don't realize the level of shock your body goes through on impact of being hit. As stated in the movie Never Back Down, "your mind only registers 2 things, get the hell back or get the hell in". I know this to be true. The very first time I ever sparred was boxing with a semi experienced friend in my back yard when I was about 16. The first punch my buddy landed on my face shocked me right down to my feet. It hurt, and I covered up and froze.

I've come a long way in the last 10 years since then, and as you know if you've been reading my posts on here I have recently restarted classes at my old Taekwondo school. It's been a hard road getting back into shape and i do have a long way to go in the weight-loss area, but I'm feeling a lot like my old self in the cardio and strength areas. I'm down 25lbs in the last couple months and in the past 3-4 weeks have severely altered my diet to better coincide with my training, so hopefully that number of pounds lost will increase quickly. I look forward to the results.

About 1 month ago I also started sparring classes at my school to coincide with my regular martial arts training. It adds an extra class each week to my regular schedule that focuses directly on free sparring. We wear some padding so we can fight full contact as we would in competition. I've always felt that the people that partake of this extra class advance much faster in the skills department simply because they have a much better understanding of how the moves they are learning work. While there are rules that make the fight more sport like you still get the same type of feeling that you do in a real fight that is not for sport. The randomness factor that is missing from regular martial training is present in a sparring class.

If you decide to take up Martial arts for any reason, if you want your skills to jump forward quickly then spar. Some schools offer the classes separately from the main class like mine, and others integrate sparring into the regular classes. Either way take part, and don't be afraid of it. Yes you can get hurt, but if you have a good instructor or coach then they will match you with someone that is at your level, and they will work with you until you feel comfortable with this type of training. The results will be apparent after a couple of sparring sessions and you will be thrilled with how much more confident it makes you in your martial arts skills. I also find it to be a blast.

Happy training.

Know Your Limits

It's been about 2 months since I restarted Taekwondo classes and I am feeling wonderful. I'm down 18 pounds to date, and am regaining my flexibility. That being said, I am starting to feel so much like my old self that on Monday on targets being held by my Master, I attempted to do a jump spinning roundhouse kick. This is an intermediate kick that requires a good amount of flexibility and a strong core and legs. I executed the kick perfectly but pulled a muscle in my thigh on the landing. The pain was excruciating and I barely made it to the end of class on my feet (Thankfully when I attempted this class was almost over).

So my point is to know your physical limits. You always want to push yourself to the limit, but if you push past them it will result in injury which could be permanent. Thankfully I didn't permanently injure myself on Monday, but it could have just as easily been a tendon torn, or an improper landing and a resulting bone break which would have been far more detrimental.  Bruce Lee always said to work to the point of muscle failure. While this may be a good practice for a trained athlete training to be the best, when you are just starting out you want to start small and stretch stretch stretch. Advancing in skill, endurance and flexibility takes a lot of time and work. This is where dedication pays off. Make small goals for yourself for the short term, and in the long term you will be successful.

Regaining Control When Your Life is Spiraling Out Of Control

Any hobby, system, sport or activity takes dedication if you want to be good. The martial arts though are something that requires a certain level of dedication beyond the regular right from the get go, even if it's just a recreational hobby, or something you do in your spare time to learn to protect yourself. You can't expect to be good at defending yourself over night, just like you can't expect to make the varsity basketball team if you've never played basketball before. However the problem with the martial arts is not that you want to be the varsity basketball equivalent right out of the box, it's that you want to feel confident that you can defend yourself if need be from an attacker quickly. Martial arts takes years of hard practice to learn well, and many more to master. However you can learn to defend yourself in a much shorter time if the basics are focused on. Once you've mastered the basics there's not much need for more, defense wise.

Some people start taking martial arts classes because they were attacked and they want to be able to handle themselves if that type of situation ever happens again. I know personally I met a lady in my Taekwondo school about 5 years ago who was raped and beaten by her ex-husband. I'd like to keep her anonymous so for this blog we'll call her Kate. Kate was the kindest person you could possibly want to meet unless you were a man and you touched her. Then you would receive a violent outburst followed by tears. I know from experience when, after class I placed my hand on her shoulder to guide her forward so I could squeeze between her and the shelf where we all placed our shoes before class. She went rigid, turned around swinging hard at my face slapping me, screaming and then collapsed onto the floor in tears. I wasn't even aware of what I'd done that caused that reaction, but after my next class my instructor brought both of us into his office and she apologized and explained a little to me about her past. She had a couple other adult students she'd confided this information in as well previously.

Me and the few of the other adult students previously mentioned felt terrible for her and wanted to help her feel comfortable in her own skin again. We sat her down and talked to her about helping her get over her fear and gaining some confidence. We wanted to do an extra private class with her 2wice a week that involved entire focus on defending against large male attackers (yes I was the large male attacker practice dummy for these exercises). She was resistant at first to our proposal, but after a few weeks she had started gaining more confidence and trust in us and approached myself and the others who wanted to help and asked if we would help her. We then spent the next 3 months, 2wice a week, privately drilling her with different defensive sparring combination's, breaking from larger assailants holds, and pressure points to use if someone ever had her pinned down. Some of these classes were very traumatic for her and caused her to break down several times. After a couple of months of this though, she seemed different. She held her shoulders back when she walked and entered the studio with a smile and her chin up. She had gotten past her fear through hard work and dedication. She found the focus and confidence she needed for her to feel in control of herself again. It didn't happen over night and it was not easy. The phrase "I worked through my heartache and sorrow with blood sweat and tears" had a new meaning to me and I'm sure it did for everyone else in our private little class we had going. Kate didn't stay at our school all the way to black belt, but she dedicated herself fully mind and body to regaining control of her life, and so I'd say that even though she stopped training with us, she was a full on success story of my teacher's school.

No 6 week woman's self defense course is going to cover the randomness that a real life situation provides, and taking an 8 week Karate class at the YMCA once a week is never going to prepare you in the slightest for a real defensive situation. Learning to properly defend yourself takes a lot of hard work, and dedication. Kate was just one amazing example of how the martial arts can help a person. Maybe the portion in your life that's not in control isn't your emotions from being attacked by a rapist. Regaining control of eating habits is something I've struggled with my entire life. It could be gaining the dedication to do a good job at work, school, or whatever else you are involved in. My point is, is that the level of dedication needed in the martial arts, will bleed into the rest of your life rounding you out. Have a great day, and if things feel out of control in your life, remember Kate.

Flexibility in the Martial Arts

All martial systems require flexibility to some degree although some put a great emphasis on it than others. Taekwondo requires an incredible amount of it. There is a large focus on using your legs. Kicking and kneeing are some of the Taekwondo practitioners most powerful weapons. For this you need extremely strong legs and a strong core (abs, back and obliques). There is about a 30/70 split on hands vs. leg techniques. Hands and arms are used for blocking and quick counter strikes, but the legs and knees are used for powerful damage causing attacks that are designed to inflict large amounts of pain and damage. These are some images depicting some of the Taekwondo foot techniques.

Taekwondo For Health Update and Setting Goals

Last night was the first time since I've restarted Taekwondo classes that I felt like my old self. I did drills and sprints with the rest of the class and even set the pace for my group in a line drill a few times through. In one month I've gone from almost vomiting after each drill and exercise to running speed drills with the rest of my class in a fairly intense workout. I still have a long way to go as far as losing weight is concerned, but seeing these kinds of results really can boost ones confidence.

I'm hoping I can be ready to compete locally by the fall - winter of this year, and regionally by spring next year. Setting goals that are not weight-loss related is important. I've always found that if I set goals for getting better at Taekwondo (or whatever activity you are working at) helps keep me motivated far better than if I say "OK I'd like to lose 20 pounds by next month". If you give your everything to whatever physical activity you are pursuing and strive for greatness is said activity, then you'll also find that weight-loss is a wonderful byproduct of this mentality.

Workout recovery

With any workout you need to make sure you give yourself ample time to recover. Your muscles require a couple days every so often to rebuild. That aching soreness you feel after a couple days of hard workouts is from repeatedly tearing down your muscles by pushing them. Martial Arts classes are no exception. I go to class 4 times throughout the week and then rest on the weekends. Now I'm not saying to be completely inactive for the rest period, but if you are weight lifting or practicing martial arts or anything that severely taxes your body take a few days and do something a little lower impact, like walking, or taking a leisurely swim. These are things that still boost your metabolism while allowing your muscles to heal.

It's important to remember in the martial arts that you are not just healing your muscles, but your ligaments and bones too. After a couple sparring classes you may have some surface fractures to your shins and insteps, or knuckles, too shallow to feel like a break, but causing you a little pain anyway. If not taken care of these can progress to larger fractures or full breaks, but if allowed to heal they'll callus the bone and make your fist or foot or whatever appendage stronger and a more deadly weapon for your overall goal of being a marital artist.

Taekwondo Update, and street application

It's been just over a month since I started Taekwondo classes back up after my three year sabbatical. I may have a long hard road ahead of me in the world of weight loss, but I'm already feeling 100% better in the health department. My flexibility is coming back, I don't get winded on the stairs and I'm actually able to keep up with the rest of the class again.

In about 3 weeks I plan on starting up our contact sparring class. Sparring was always my favorite part of classes. I was never exceptional at it, but I think I could have been if I had stayed in classes before my sabbatical. I always enjoyed the practical application that contact fighting gave you. Granted my sparring classes are based on Olympic Taekwondo rules, so we have to adhere to a certain format for how we go about fighting. It still shows us what it's like to be going head to head in a full contact environment, and it provides you with the knowledge of what it feels like to be hit.

Most people talk big when discussing what they'd do if forced to defend themselves, but, most people would crumble in a real fight if they were hit first because they don't know the physical and emotional trauma that it puts your body through. As stated in the movie "Never Back Down", "your body only registers 2 things, back the hell up, or get the hell in". I agree and disagree with this statement. They (in the movie) are talking about what you feel when hit in an MMA (Mixed martial arts) match. In a street confrontation I think most people also have a third thing register, and that is pain. Not to say it doesn't hurt in a sanctioned match to get hit, but in that environment it's expected and you've usually trained and are ready for it. On the street you don't expect to have to deal with pain, so when it occurs at the hand of another person there's a shock factor to deal with.

The study and practice of martial arts can help mentally and physically prepare you for such a scenario. Hopefully as you practice you will never be put into a situation where you need to be prepared to be hit, but "fortune favors the prepared mind". I'd rather be ready and not need my skills than need them and not be ready.

Taekwondo for Weightloss

I was never into traditional sports as a kid or teen. I wrestled for half of one season my freshman year of high school but couldn't keep my grades up while doing it so I quit. I did baseball when I was younger but did it more for my dad then myself. Because of my inactive nature I gained a lot of weight throughout high school and was very unhealthy. I knew I needed  to do something and it needed to be a severe lifestyle change from what I was used to. 

I was always intrigued by martial arts but didn't know who was good and where I should go or how I should go about choosing a style. I thought about it through my senior year and about a year after. I then found out that a friend of mine was taking Taekwondo classes. We started by her showing me some moves at her house to see if I could do it in my "large" condition. I loved it and started looking forward to going to her house week to week to learn more. After about a month she invited me down to her school to try out some real classes. I did and never looked back. 

I practice Taekwondo for about 4 years earning a black belt (1st degree) and losing about 115lbs. I competed in several championships including the NY Regional WTF championships and the Hartford Open National Taekwondo championship. I loved Taekwondo and everything to do with it. I felt good and was much healthier then I'd ever been in my life. 

I then made a decision to go back to college and get a degree in Computers and Taekwondo fell by the way side due to money and time constraints. It's been about 3 years and I've gained a lot of weight back, but about 3 weeks ago I started classes back up at my old school which despite the recession and everything is doing very well. 

This blog is going to be about my journey back to the world of the fit and healthy through martial arts. I'll talk about myself, and any experiences I have along the way. I'll also be sure to tell you all about my school, fellow students and anything else I feel applies to this topic or that you will find amusing.